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Fazzino Baseball Art at the Norman Rockwell Museum

July 5, 2010

On Saturday, I had the great pleasure…and honor…of participating in the annual Baseball Day at The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. What an incredible day!
The Fourth of July is all about America…our heritage, our history…and of course, our independence. I can’t think of a better place to celebrate than in the home of one of the greatest artists our country has ever produced. Norman Rockwell was more than an artist…he was a historian. I had the opportunity to tour the museum before our event began. I knew a lot about Mr. Rockwell, but i have never seen so many of his original works assembled in one place. The impact was incredible. Norman Rockwell never shied away from controversy. He painted what he believed. In particular, i saw for the first time, the original ofThe Golden Rule– an incredibly powerful piece, for which i understand, he received a great deal of hate mail. The artist’s original Stockbridge studio is also on the Museum grounds. I urge you…if you ever find yourself in Stockbridge, MA…make sure you get to The Norman Rockwell Museum. It’s a wonderful look at our country’s history through the middle of the twentieth century as seen through the eyes of a brilliant artist.

Now…back to Baseball Day. Of course, Norman Rockwell’s baseball paintings are some of his best known works….you can see them at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Baseball Day is the brainchild of curator Tom Daly whom i met almost a year ago. Tom saw some similarities between my work and career and that of Mr. Rockwell…while i was honored to even be compared…i was able to see what he was talking about…i hope that my legacy, similar to that of Norman Rockwells, is as a pop culture historian, of sorts.

Tom invited me up to Baseball Day and I was more than happy to oblige. There were baseball players, and representatives from the Hall of Fame, and baseball artist Graig Kreindler More than 1,000 people came through the Museum on Saturday. I had the opportunity to meet Linda Ruth Tosetti (Babe Ruth’s grandaughter) who was on hand to talk about her heritage and her legendary grandfather. I worked with a wonderful group of kids…and adults…to create a work that will become part of the Museum’s permanent collection. I understand that it will be on view with the new acquisitions collection in the Fall and i’m VERY proud of that.

It was a fantastic weekend and we had lots of fun and met some great new friends.